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Saving the cotton candy jellybean

Ok, so you know when you have a bag of jellybeans, and you’ve already eaten all of the favorites (bubblegum, blueberry and all of the bright colors)? Suddenly, you’re at the end of the bag, and all your fingertips can find are the popcorn jellybeans with a few cotton candys. Panicked, you suddenly start swallowing popcorn beans by the mouthful. Get the gross flavor out of the way so you can savor the favorite at the end.

Ah, the moment we’ve been waiting for. Cotton candy.

It’s because we save the best for last. I don’t really know why, but we do. Football teams want the ball to start the second half. The fiercest, hardest-hitting political ads air the week before the election. And, yes, we save a substantial amount of ketchup for the very last bite of a chicken strip.

Well, here’s how I saved the best TV show for last.

About three or four years ago (I can’t remember the exact date), I started watching Arrested Development on DVD. My friends and I poured through the first two seasons and didn’t stop laughing. Then, it was time to start the third season.

I stopped. Even though I owned the discs, I saved them. I wanted them to be there for me when I needed them. I saved the best for last.

I’ve applied for somewhere between 25 to 30 jobs. Add on another 50 for inquiries that were rejected outright, based on lack of experience. If you want to gain three to five years experience, you sure as hell better have three to five years experience. And here everyone was telling me I would find my dream job as soon as I got a degree. That was the point, right?

Last Thursday, on my birthday, a realization hit me square in the face. I’m a 23-year-old intern who has been rejected an upward of 100 times for jobs ranging from community newsweeklies to online development for California TV stations to daily reporting gigs.

Tired doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. For those who know me, I don’t approach anything lightly. I poured my entire being into those applications, into those e-mails, those phone calls. I almost want to upload every cover letter, uniquely written for each application, to illustrate my point.

No dice.

That’s why I saved the best for last. I needed Gob’s chicken dance or Tobias’ complete lack of awareness to help keep me level. To stop for a few moments and forget the stress of being a recent grad without a full-time job.

Two friends of mine shared similar stories with me last week. They both told me about their friends who shared similar stories with them. I’m not stuck in a unique situation.

But this isn’t the end. I’m not actually saving the best TV show for last. I’m still 23 and I have everything on a path before me — I just have to reach out and push forward. Sometimes, I need to remind myself that I’m still in the first handful or two of jellybeans, with more than half of a bag left.

So, if you find yourself in a similar situation and you need a moment to breathe, may I recommend enjoying the greatest comedy series to hit television? It’s starting to work for me. And if that doesn’t work, send me your address. I’ll make sure to share some cotton candy jeallybeans.

2 Comments

A great point of view, even though I know I can say these types of “cotton candy jellybean” situations present themselves in my everyday life, I never really make the best of the situation. Saving the best for last is good aspect to take on the day, and an even greater point of view for the general outlook of your life. Great article.

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